Schönaich, Germany, and Dallas, United States, October 1, 2026 – Synapticon GmbH, a developer of integrated motion control and functional safety technology for robotics, and Reynolds & Moore, a functional safety engineering consultancy, have entered a partnership to support developers of humanoid and mobile robots on their path to certification. 

Humanoid robots are leaving the laboratory, and with that move the decisive question shifts. It is no longer whether a robot can walk, but whether it may operate near people. The safety concepts the industry inherited from industrial robotics were built for machines behind fences. Cut the power to a robot arm and it stops. Cut the power to a humanoid and it falls. Closing that gap requires both system-level safety architecture and hardware designed for it – which is where the two companies complement each other. 

Reynolds & Moore contributes functional safety engineering expertise and consulting capacity in the North American and European markets, from risk assessments and safety architecture design to validation and certification readiness. Synapticon contributes the components and the system knowledge behind them: the SOMANET™ servo drive families, ACTILINK actuators for robot joints, and the POSITRON Safety AI platform, which addresses multi-axis safe motion, safe human detection and behavioral supervision of the operating AI. The platform is developed in accordance with IEC 61508, ISO 13849, IEC 61800-5-2, ISO/IEC TS 22440, IEC 62998 and IEC 61496. 

Together the two companies cover the full spectrum of making humanoid robots safe: from concept and risk assessment through implementation and integration to certification. Reynolds & Moore supports the safety engineering and the route to a certified system, Synapticon the motion technology and safety architecture that route depends on.  

SYNAPTICON 
"Safety for humanoid robots is not a feature you add at the end, it is an architecture decision made at the beginning," says Florian Weisshardt, Head of Synapticon Intelligence. "Most teams we talk to are focused on getting a prototype to walk. The moment they think about deployment, they discover that the standards they need were not written for two-legged machines. Reynolds & Moore knows that terrain, and together we can guide teams through it instead of letting them find out the hard way." 

November 3-5, 2026 | Huntington Place, Detroit, Michigan

Automation is moving faster. Safety programs, standards knowledge, and risk-assessment practices must keep pace. Attend the International Robot Safety Conference (IRSC) to learn from experts on how to build safer automation at your jobsite.

Learn